Nicaragua Facts.

A country rich in religion, Nicaragua takes pride in the Basililca De La Asuncion, with all the white rooftop area the view and experience is incredible. Another religious and historic spot is the Convento y Museo San Francisco, as one of the oldest churches that was erected and has undergone different experiences from being burned down by pirates to being revived and reconstructed. The thing that makes this scenery worth visiting is the catacombs underneath the convent and the church. The other side of Nicaragua is Parque de la Paz, which houses Managua’s Peace Park and its well known lighthouse. Being in this country seemed like being transported to another place and another time. Visit Nicaragua and travel to back the years before you were even born.

Nicaragua – Important and interesting Facts

Nicaragua is a very large country. It is considered one of central Americas “Tropical Paradise.” If, you get the chance to visit you will surely agree that Nicaragua offers diverse wildlife, culture and history.

Nicaragua has two Ocean coasts. Each, on opposite sides of the country. So, you can take a morning swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Then in the Evening take a relaxing dip in the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is the world’s second largest ocean, with a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres, it covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth’s oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

The largest natural lake in all of Central America is located in Nicaragua. It is called as Lake Nicaragua it is a major tourist attraction and water supply for many people. Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of 8,264 km2 (3,191 sq mi), it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the 9th largest in the Americas, slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation of 32.7 metres (107 ft) above sea level, the lake reaches a depth of 26 metres (85 ft). It is intermittently joined by the Tipitapa River to Lake Managua.

Miss Nicaragua was slated to become the winner of the miss universe pageant but came in runner up instead. She is famous for her positive statement about her outlook on life. I quote “I am a young woman with a lot of charisma, and one of my greatest virtues is my positive outlook on life”

Nicaragua is home to the World’s only “Dual Volcano” The Volcano is in a small mountain range and is fed underground by two separate magma flows. It is the only volcano in the world that can erupt with two diverse magma channels underneath it. Not only do many lakes and lagoons exist throughout the country, an impressive line of volcanoes also runs from north to south. There is a great variety among these volcanoes; some have huge smoking crater mouths whereas other volcanoes were blown away in violent eruptions thousands of years ago, leaving behind nothing more than a tranquil crater lake.

This country is one of the safest travel destinations in Central America, recording the lowest homicides in the region year after year. Despite bordering Honduras, Central America’s poorest country, Nicaragua, has a lower murder rate than every country in the region besides Costa Rica. Nicaraguan officials say this is because of the country’s robust law enforcement

Nicaragua is home to over a 100 species of Orchids. Once you get to the top, where three species of monkeys, 168 species of birds and over 100 types of orchids are just part of the jungle canopy this park is intent on preserving, you have a choice of three trails: Sendero del Cráter, a 1.5km jaunt to the fumaroles, plus great views of Granada and Las Isletas; Sendero la Puma, a steeper 4km trek around the lip of the crater, with even better views.

Nicaragua has the highest percentage of forest coverage of any of the Central America countries, combined with the lowest population density. The total forest coverage of Nicaragua is 5, 189, 000 hectares or 42.7% of the land area. Nicaragua’s government has encouraged the development of forest plantations, which have expanded from 4,000 hectares in 1990 to more than 50,000 hectares by 2005. About 6 percent of the country is under some form of protection.

Nicaragua has 19 active volcanoes which form a NW-SE running chain mostly inside the Nicaraguan Depression graven. The volcanoes and graven structure are related to the northeastward subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate along the Middle American Trench.

Gallo pinto is Nicaragua’s national rice dish. Gallo pinto or gallopinto is a traditional dish of Nicaragua and Costa Rica made with rice and beans. The history of gallo pinto is not well known, and there are disputes between Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans about where the dish originated.

Nicaragua – Cool, Fun, and Funny Facts

The most famous Latin America singer, Luis Enrique is from Nicaragua with many hits including “mi mindo”. , Luis Enrique was born on September 28, 1962 and he is a Nicaraguan singer and composer. He started his career in the late 1980s and achieved success in the 1990s earning the title “El Principe de la Salsa (The Prince of Salsa).

Nicaragua is among the top ten countries for the best waves and beaches for surfing in the world! The top ten spots to ride the waves are Playa Maderas, Popoyo, Playa Colorado, Panga Drops, Lance’s Left, and The Boom. Nica’s Wave rank among the best in Central America. Trade winds blow unopposed over Lake Managua and out into the Pacific, blessing the southwestern coastline with consistently offshore winds. Add to that the fact that the country receives the brunt of storm waves propagating up from the South Pacific year round, and has a coastal topography littered with points, reefs, and creek-fed beaches.

Lake Nicaragua and the River San Juan are home to the only known Freshwater Sharks in the world! True freshwater sharks are sharks able to live in freshwater lakes and rivers, including: the bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, which swims up tropical rivers around the world. The river sharks, Glyphis, found in fresh and brackish water in Asia and Australia

The 2010/2011 Season of the Television series SURVIVOR was filmed in Nicaragua and averaged 14 million viewers weekly. Survivor Nicaragua filmed on June 14, 2010 and takes place on San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua with the total of 15 episodes, 39 days and 20 survivors. The Survivor: Nicaragua is the 21st season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. It premiered on September 15, 2010 at 8:00pm.

Nicaragua is the only country in the world where you can do “Volcano Boarding” Climb up a 400 meter active volcano, and slide down its 45 degrees slope. Volcano Cerro Negro is a volcano in the Cordillera de los Maribios mountain range in Nicaragua, about 10 km from the village of Malpaisillo. It is a very new volcano, the youngest in Central America, having first appeared in April 1850. It consists of a gravelly basaltic cinder cone, which contrasts greatly with the surrounding verdant hillsides, and gives rise to its name, which means Black Hill.

Levi’s Jeans and BMW are a few of the Global names of companies with manufacturing facilities in Nicaragua. Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans. While BMW, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly known as BMW or BMW AG, is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916

Luis Enrique, world famous Salsa singer is He is better known as Luis Enrique, Prince of Salsa is a renowned performer , musician , composer and producer of origin Nicaraguan who has developed a successful career in rhythms of salsa , pop and jazz .

Erasmo José Ramírez Olivera from Rivas is a professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. He is a right-handed pitcher. He signed with the Mariners in 2007, and made his professional debut in 2008 with the Venezuelan Summer League Mariners. In 2009, with the Venezuelan Summer League Mariners, he was selected as the Seattle’s minor league pitcher of the year. In 2010, Ramírez played with the Class-A Clinton LumberKings. He stands at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and weighs 180 pounds (82 kg). Ramírez bats and throws right-handed.

Many cigar makers fled Cuba with tobacco leaf seeds during the revolution, and re-started their businesses here. The northern town of Estelí is now home to many of them. Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as “the Diamond of the Segovias.”

The Augusto César Sandino Airport terminal in Managua was recognized as one of the safest in Latin America by the Organization of International Civil Aviation (OACI, for its acronym in Spanish). The runway at the airport is 10,032 ft long, and it is located at an elevation of 194 feet. With 1.2 million passengers in 2013, ACS is currently the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America and it also serves as a focus city for the Panamanian airline Copa Airlines

Nicaragua – History and Cultural Facts

In February 6, 1983 the Nicaraguan Government Junta officially announced that the Pope would come to the country. In March 1983, Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit to Nicaragua. The papal plane landed at the Augusto C. Sandino Airport in Managua at 9:15 a.m. John Paul II was in Nicaragua eleven hours, on the second stage of his journey to Central America. In order to be minimally correct, any analysis or account of this short papal visit requires familiarity with what was the long preparation for the trip.

Nicaragua is the birthplace of Ruban Dario one of the 20th century’s most notable poets. Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo that flourished at the end of the 19th century

Nicaragua had the first elected woman president of any Central America country. She served from 1991 to 1997. Her name is Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (born October 18, 1929) is a Nicaraguan political leader, former president and publisher. She became president of Nicaragua on April 25, 1990, when she unseated Daniel Ortega.

Coyotepe Fort (Masaya, Nicaragua) is a whitewashed battlement and squat, yellow-domed towers overlook Masaya town and lake, and afford a pleasant visit that belies this structure’s dark history of revolution and resistance.

Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, (May 18, 1895 – February 21, 1934) was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and in 2010 was unanimously named a “national hero” in 2010 by the nation’s congress. Sandino’s political descendants, along with the icons of his wide-brimmed hat and boots, and influence of his writings from the years of warfare against the U.S. Marines, continue to help shape the national identity of Nicaragua.

The Ruins of Leon Viejo was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. It is the oldest city in Central America. The Ruins of León Viejo are an exceptional testimony of the first European settlements in the New World. Founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, during its short history, the city has undergone a series of natural disasters. Partially destroyed by the Momotombo volcano that irrupted in 1578, the earthquake of 1610 struck the final blow by destroying what remained standing. The decision was taken to move the city and to rebuild it six leagues away. The gradual burial of the city due to natural disasters has preserved the vestiges unaltered and in the same environment, without having undergone any change.

El Castillo (Río San Juan, Nicaragua) is the dark-stained stone remains of the Spanish fort are relics of just how important the San Juan River was. Built to deter marauding pirates bent on raiding prosperous Granada, El Castillo had 32 cannons and a well-stocked armory of 11,000 weapons. Cannon balls and old rum bottles add color to the story.

Archipiélago Zapatera (Lake Nicaragua) is Famous for its pre-Columbian stone carvings, this archipelago off the coast of Granada boasts lots of wildlife, a crater lake, and more than 20 archaeological sites that date back as far as 500 B.C. The vast range of zoomorphic statues reveals that the islands were once important religious sites. Isla el Muerto, in particular, has some of the most spectacular rock drawings in the country, all laid out on a huge slab of stone measuring 100*25m (328*82 ft.) on the island’s summit.

Huellas de Acahualinca (Managua, Nicaragua): Six thousand-year-old footprints of men, women, and children beg the question is do they fleeing a volcanic eruption or just going for a swim? One thing is for sure, the footprints on display here are some of the oldest pieces of evidence of human activity in Central America. This intriguing site can be visited in a northern suburb of Managua.

León (Nicaragua): This cradle of the revolution has been bombed, besieged, and washed away by hurricanes. Every street corner tells a story, and it’s highly recommended that you take a city tour of this fascinating university town with its vibrant murals, tiny plazas, and the biggest cathedral in Central America. Nearby is León Viejo, the original, abandoned colonial city at the feet of its destroyer — Volcán Momotombo.